5 Huge Mistakes WWE Made In The Superstar Shakeup

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WWE made plenty of big moves in the Superstar Shakeup, some of which may come back to haunt the company.

Credit: WWE.com

WWE didn't play around with this year's Superstar Shakeup, making a number of bold moves, like moving both Roman Reigns and AJ Styles, that should work out wonderfully for the company in the long run.

It's hard not to be excited about Reigns, Styles, Finn Balor, The Miz, Bayley and other popular stars switching shows, but at the same time, it's also difficult to be too optimistic about some of the changes WWE made this past week. Right off the bat, it can't be overlooked that Raw viewership was down big yet again for the Superstar Shakeup edition, which isn't exactly an encouraging sign given some of the other moves the red brand made. Reigns is now on SmackDown, and overcoming the loss of "The Big Dog," arguably WWE's biggest full-time star, is one of many challenges Raw will face moving forward.

Likewise, SmackDown will have to rebound from the loss of Styles and The Miz, two cornerstones of the blue brand, and though the additions of Reigns and Balor will certainly help, WWE will also have to move past a number of booking decisions made during the Superstar Shakeup that, at least as of right now, could come back to bite the company.

Here are five big mistakes WWE made during the Superstar Shakeup.

Keeping Raw's Core Of Top Heels Together

Credit: WWE.com

Credit: WWE.com

One of the biggest reasons why Raw has been so boring and monotonous over the past year has been that it has largely revolved around a trio of heels in Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre, who have been loosely associated with one another for the last six months or so.

On their own, McIntyre and Lashley are fine when booked well, but there is evidence that Corbin, despite being a hated heel, is a turnoff to WWE viewers and a villain with the notorious "X-Pac" or "go-away" heat rather than the type of heat that makes fans want to tune in on a consistent basis. That's why WWE really dropped the ball by not splitting up this unofficial trio during the Superstar Shakeup and sending at least one of them to SmackDown. Let's be honest: Fans have had to sit through so many different variations of mundane feuds and matches involving these three stars that the sheer thought of them even being on the same brand for another year is an extremely disappointing one.

At best, it means they'll just be on the same show. At worst, it means they will continue their loose association and will be pushed as top stars who consistently rotate in and out of feuds with Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins. That possibility is one that won't sit well with fans and could continue the further descent of the red brand if those fans realize that Raw's top feuds will continue to revolve around those three stars (particularly Lashley and Corbin) for the foreseeable future.

Not Moving Braun Strowman And Other Stale Stars

Credit: WWE.com

Credit: WWE.com

There are a ton of other stale stars who really would have benefited from a move during the Superstar Shakeup, none more so than Braun Strowman. Yet, many of those stars stayed put.

Strowman was booked downright terribly over the past year and should have made the move to SmackDown, but he wasn't the only misused star who remains stuck in midcard purgatory. Over on SmackDown, Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura, two of the most overlooked and poorly used stars in all of WWE, stayed on SmackDown in a move that virtually ensures they won't be pushed well at any point in the near future. With SmackDown having an influx of big names like Balor, Reigns and Elias, and also adding Lars Sullivan to the mix, it's likely that "The Bulgarian Brute" and "The Artist" will be pushed even further down the card.

Of course, WWE can't move every star in the Superstar Shakeup, or else it will simply be right back where it started. But while the creative team made some moves that likely won't impact WWE all that much in the long run, such as splitting up Sanity and The Riott Squad, failing to provide stars like Strowman, Rusev and Nakamura with a fresh start on a new brand could have a huge impact on the company in the near future.

Just not a good one.

Putting Elias On SmackDown

Credit: WWE.com

Credit: WWE.com

The good news is that Elias appears to finally be getting an actual feud on SmackDown, which is a rarity for the man formerly known as "The Drifter." The bad news, however, is that he was tailor made for Raw.

Elias became one of WWE's most popular and entertaining acts (not to mention WWE's top merchandise mover for a brief stretch) on the red brand because he was given a boatload of TV time on the three-hour show, which really needed to utilize him as a "time filler" of sorts who could go out there and entertain the audience for 20 minutes on his own in a way that no one else could. What's unfortunate for Elias is that on SmackDown everything is more concise, straightforward and to the point, and many high-profile stars on the blue brand receive either a limited amount of TV time or don't appear on the show at all.

That problem has plagued a number of different SmackDown stars in the past, including the aforementioned Nakamura, and now, the wildly entertaining Elias could fall victim to being on a two-hour show with a stacked roster and limited TV Time. Elias' entire shtick as a faux musician was consistently one of the highlights of Raw, but there is reason to be concerned about how much exposure he will get on SmackDown, which is disappointing for fans of his.

A Lack Of Top Heels On The Blue Brand

Credit: WWE.com

Credit: WWE.com

The Raw and SmackDown rosters both look strong overall, but if there is one noticeable weakness on the blue brand, it's the lack of top heels.

Daniel Bryan is currently dealing with a significant injury while Samoa Joe will apparently be headed to Raw. That leaves SmackDown pretty thin on the dark side, with Elias (who's never had a memorable feud), Buddy Murphy (who just came up from 205 Live and may not be pushed as well as he should be), Lars Sullivan (who is completely unproven at this point), Randy Orton (who is essentially now the show's No. 1 heel) as well as Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura, two stars who are currently working as a tag team and ones who WWE has given no indication it has any intentions of pushing anytime soon.

While the seeds have been planted for a Kevin Owens heel turn, there's no guarantee of that, which means that SmackDown could be moving forward with only Bryan, assuming he's healthy, solidified as a main event caliber villain. Otherwise, there will be a lot of trial and error when it comes to pushing new heels, and WWE will have to hope that it hits it big with someone like Murphy or Sullivan, who appears to be the company's next pet project.

Over the past few years, SmackDown has had much better booking than Raw, so there is reason to be optimistic about the blue brand's ability to create WWE's next mega heel. But as of right now, SmackDown is rather weak as far as heels are concerned, which may hurt the new A-show in the ratings department.

Gutting The Raw Women's Division

Credit: WWE.com

Credit: WWE.com

The Raw's women's division is suddenly paper thin.

The departure of Ronda Rousey and the uncertain status of Sasha Banks is really just the tip of the iceberg, too. In the Superstar Shakeup, WWE sent a few more pivotal pieces of Raw's women's division to SmackDown, moving Ember Moon, Bayley and Mickie James to the blue brand while also shipping out Liv Morgan, which effectively ended The Riott Squad. SmackDown also added arguably the best female wrestler from NXT in Kairi Sane while Becky Lynch is still listed as a member of the SmackDown roster.

In return, Raw only added Naomi, Lacey Evans and Zelina Vega, who is mostly a manager and rarely wrestles. In essence, Raw traded Bayley, Moon, James, Sane and Morgan for Naomi, Vega and the unproven Evans, which is even more lopsided than it sounds. Given that Nia Jax is currently out of action with a double knee injury as well, it remains a mystery how Raw will possibly be able to put on entertaining feuds in the women's singles division and tag team division over the course of the next 12 months.

And without a viable women's division on Raw, that is just one more reason why fans may not tune into the show on a consistent basis.

Blake Oestriecher is an elementary school teacher by day and a sports writer by night. He’s a contributor to@ForbesSports, where he primarily covers WWE. You can follow him on Twitter@BOestriecher.